New SARS, the infection is not enough for a handshake - Il Sole 24 Ore

is still a mystery the identikit of the New Sars virus , which should be transmitted only to “close contact”, but has already seen a dozen new cases testing positive. All new diagnoses recorded in the infectious disease ward of the hospital of Careggi in Florence that do not raise alarm: the fittings have sent home all patients, “asymptomatic”, that is, that did not show any signs of infection manifested by fever, cough, breathing problems, in other words, wheezing or difficulty breathing . Remain in isolation only the first three patients, the first Italian case, a Jordanian of 45 years now healed (it will be discharged once negative throat swab), a fellow man and his granddaughter, a child of a year and a half, hospitalized in isolation to Meyer in Florence after the appearance of a little ‘fever.

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Symptoms – No alarm, then, for experts. The WHO monitors its appearance, exactly one year ago in the Middle East, the new coronavirus, MERS CoV ( Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus ), a virus ” cousin” of SARS , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS , the atypical form of pneumonia that 10 years had set off the alarm in the south-east Asia, killing at least 800 people, including Carlo Urbani , the Italian microbiologist who first identified the new pathogen. Compared to its predecessor, the new virus seems to be “slower”. So far, the victims were twenty in the UAE, while a man of 65 years died in France for the complications of the infection. The other European cases can be counted on your fingers, they are mostly people returning from travel in the Arabian Peninsula.

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The Italian situation is under control, conf irms the Ministry of Health, but it is necessary that in the presence of symptoms of a flu “out of season” you immediately notice the family doctor to monitor progress, especially when the patient is an elderly person, a child or a patient suffering from chronic diseases . “It is a virus – the statement of the Ministry – whose almost-human transmission seems to be possible only where there have been prolonged close contact such as within a household or in a hospital ward. With regard to international travel and trade routes, the World Health Organization does not recommend testing or other restrictions on entry to travelers in the member countries of the European Region”

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In fact, the behavior of the virus has taken aback experts. “ There was a belief, as indicated by the World Health Organization that the virus was transmitted recently and was quite aggressive. What we’re seeing so far seems to be, however, just the opposite. The pattern is reversed “says Professor Alexander Bartoloni , head of the department of infectious diseases of the AOU Careggi in Florence, where the first cases were hospitalized.

Prevention – The virus has about 12 days of incubation , but the risk of being infected with a simple handshake is really low. “For the prevention of respiratory infections – reminiscent of the experts of the Ministry of Health -, the normal recommended hygiene measures for the flu, which are frequent hand washing and covering your mouth with a tissue when you sneeze.”

Into Cosimo Colasanto (04/06/2013)